Not Until I Remember
by Kiriata
Summary: Set before the events of Kingdom Hearts II, Kairi wanders about Destiny Islands, trying to recall who exactly was that brown-haired boy. A Kairi-centric one-shot.


**Not Until I Remember**

A Kairi-centric story, concerning the red-haired keyblader before the events of KHII, when she could not remember who Sora is. In this story, her thoughts are all in italics, while the memories are in normal font, meaning it is briefly switching to the past.

This is a birthday story for a friend of mines, DestinyHikari, so I hope she enjoys it! It's not my best work, but I tried my best!

**Disclaimer: **I do not any part of the game, _Kingdom Hearts_.

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_Destiny Islands…it's such a beautiful place. Everything has a memory. Everything subtle, everything prominent…t__his sand even, it brings back such fond days…_

"Look! Look! I wrote our names in the sand!"

"Oh, that's so cute," Kairi remarked, smiling.

"It's going to be washed away by the waves pretty soon though," Riku remarked, offhandedly. "So cherish it while you can."

"No! I won't let that happen!"

"…What are you doing now?" Riku asked, incredulously. "Why are you putting all that sand into a bottle?"

"Wh…what?!" Kairi exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Why…why did you just throw it into the sea?"

"That way, the waves will carry the sand, with our names, wherever it goes…"

"Don't you know the names disappear as soon as you collected it?" Riku remarked, raising an eyebrow. "It's futile."

"No it isn't…because one of these days, it'll come back to me. And I'll wait our names in it again, and again, and again!"

"…You're kind of not making any sense," Riku commented, shaking his head.

"Well, you'll see…one of these days…"

_That boy…with the brown hair…I can't remember his name…I can barely remember his eyes…his smile…it's all so blurry…_

_Who was he? I felt so fondly for him yet…I can't recall who he is._

_I can remember…how he used to collect these seashells, that had dotted the shore…_

"Riku, Kairi, do you want to help me?"

"Help you?" Kairi asked, tilting her head to the side. "Help you do what?"

"Collect seashells!"

"For what reason?" Riku asked, crossing his arms. "It seems pretty pointless."

"Each shell seems to resemble an event in our life, don't you think? Like the jagged ones are the painful ones, and the smooth ones are the lovely ones!"

"…That's pretty silly," Riku remarked, sighing. "Not that it's unlike you or anything..."

"Well I think it's sweet," Kairi said, defensively. "So if you don't have anything nice to say, Riku, don't say anything at all!"

"Can you two help me, please?"

"Of course," Kairi smiled. "I'll be more than happy to!"

"Well…I guess I'll help too," Riku relented, reluctantly. "But only for a short while."

_Hehe, he said that he'd only help for a short while...but we had so much fun, that we all spent hours, combing the shore for seashells. We all had so many laughs, so many smiles…it was all so innocent and pure._

_Our childhood was so pleasant - we spent practically every day together…_

_Ah, what is this...? A starfish?_

_Oh...that definitely reminds me of a memory..._

"Ahhhh!"

"What's wrong?!" Kairi exclaimed, startled by the boy's scream. "What are you screaming about?!"

"There's…there's a starfish…on my foot!"

"What a hassle," Riku groaned, jadedly. "Well, there's only one way to get it off…urinary."

"Ew," Kairi said, scrunching her nose. "Well, have fun with that, Riku."

"Hey, wait," Riku said, frowning. "Why me?"

"Well, I'm a lady and you have to be the big strong man," Kairi said, crossing her arms. "So there's no way _I'm _doing it. I mean, seriously...I would feel totally uncomfortable doing that."

"G-guys, help!!"

Riku sighed, running a hand through his silver hair. "Oh fine…but you owe me one, Kairi."

"Alright...hehe…"

"Turn around, will you?!"

_That was so funny, even the boy, who had seemed so close to tears, couldn't help but giggle…_

_Who is he?_

_That boy, he always seems so kind…I even remember the time he helped tend to a bird…_

"What do you have there?" Kairi asked, crouching close to the young boy. "Is that a…bird?"

"It's...it's injured. I found it on the floor…and I'm trying to help it get better."

"That looks tough," Riku remarked, glancing over his shoulder. "The bird seems pretty roughed up…"

"Well, if you need any help," Kairi said, reassuringly, "I'll try my best to do what I can!"

"Aww, thanks…but I think everything will be fine…"

_And it was. A few days later, after showering his unwavering attention on the bird, it was completely well. It was amazing…_

_No. That boy was amazing…_

_Yet, I can't remember him. It's a complete blur, like looking through a haze._

_I care for him so much…but I just can't appear to recall who he is exactly._

_Oh…_

_What is this…? A…bottle? In the ocean?_

_Sand. White sand. _

_It's…the exact same bottle that boy sent out to sea…_

…_He was right. It did return. But…I can't write our names in the sand. I don't know his at all…__I just can't remember who he is, at all…_

_It's pathetic. A shame to my own self and memory. I have to remember. I just have to. What if that boy returns and I don't know who he is? I can't disappoint him._

_I'm going to send this bottle back out…and I'll leave this island. I can't stay here, not without the boy…not without remembering his name…not without remembering his face…not without remembering his eyes…not until I remember him._

_So, Destiny Islands...good-bye for now. Take care of the memories left here, so you'll never forget us. I'll return one of these days..._

_But not now. Not until I remember._

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Well, I hope you liked it, DestinyHikari! And I sure hope I portrayed Kairi well...


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